The 2025 auction season is coming to a close, and as I prepared for the final winter sales, I found myself with three compelling watches from three different auctions on my bidding sheet. All of the auction dates landed within a four-day window in early December, which felt like the perfect excuse to take a closer look, both at the lots that caught my eye and at how each one ultimately played out.
In practice, winter tends to be when I’m most active as a bidder. Part of that is simply the density of sales: November and December flood the market with thousands of watches in rapid succession, creating a kind of organized chaos that rewards patience and pattern recognition. Over the years, I’ve learned to steer clear of the headline-grabbing auctions unless I’m hunting something truly irreplaceable. Instead, I gravitate towards smaller regional houses and quieter online auctions, searching for pockets of value that others may overlook.
In years past, these “second tier” winter auctions have been quite fruitful, yielding interesting watches such as this immaculate Universal Geneve “Evil Nina,” this Zenith A386 chronograph, and this Urban Jurgensen Reference 2. All of these watches flew under the radar and sold below market value in their respective auctions despite their incredible condition and rich histories.
This year, my focus on trying to find value within the auctions felt even more relevant. With bidding platforms more democratized than ever, it’s hard to uncover true “sleepers,” and as an American bidder, tariffs and adverse exchange rate movements have done their best to nibble away at purchasing power. Still, there are always opportunities for prospective bidders with a discerning eye and the interest to dig a little deeper.
Without further ado, let’s dive into these three gems and see if I was able to land any of them!
Longines 13ZN Chronograph
Auction Location: USA
Estimate: $100-$200 USD
Buyer’s Premium: 20%
The first lot of the week was in a small auction house in New York that was hosting an antique auction with only a handful of watches among the hundreds of lots. One of the watches was a Longines 13Zn that looked nearly identical to a 13Zn that I already own and oozed “barn find” appeal. At this point, a logical person would be asking why the hell I’m bidding on watch that’s a duplicate of one in my collection already – and I can’t say I really disagree.
My 13Zn came to me by chance – a rare find from a classified ad that had a rich history and was found in incredible, original condition. Owning that watch has converted me into a 13Zn advocate, and in the spirit of seeking value, early non-waterproof 13Zn’s now trade hands at their lowest levels in over a decade. Decent non-waterproof 13ZNs surged past $20,000 in the peak years, so finding a viable example for ~$10,000 still feels like one of the few genuine value opportunities in vintage chronographs.
The auction house noted that the watch was property of a “Long Island, NY home” and while the pictures certainly didn’t spruce up the watch’s curb appeal, that may have also attracted early bidding. The comically low estimate of $100-200 didn’t last long, and by the time the auction started, pre-bids had reached $8,000. “We had no idea it was worth this much and have been shocked at the pre-bids,” they said when I called before the auction. I wasn’t.
The pre-auction bidding volume wasn’t particularly encouraging, but perhaps it was a power play from a few bidders trying to scare off others from participating in the live auction. Read on to see how I fared.
My Final Bid: $8,500 ($10,200 all-in)
Outcome: LOST; Final Hammer: $9,000 ($10,800 all-in)
Post-Sale Thoughts: Knowing that the watch needed significant additional servicing expense, I set a limit of no more than $11,000 (all-in) headed into the auction, which didn’t leave much room above the pre-bids. I had speculated before the auction that the pre-bidding frenzy might have been strategic from a couple of invested parties, and that turned out to be accurate. When it finally came time to bid on the 13Zn, there were only two people who actually bid (one of which was me).
Now is where I come clean – I made a very stupid mistake in my bidding strategy: despite my upper limit of a $9,000 hammer bid, I chose to jump in first with a bid of $8,500…thus guaranteeing that I would be priced out if anyone bid against me. I realized my mistake almost immediately, and when the ensuing $9,000 bid was submitted moments later, I chose to stay disciplined and bow out – particularly because I already have a very similar watch in my collection.
From a market perspective, I think this price was fair. After servicing costs, the buyer of this watch will likely have spent ~$13,000, which reflects a fair value in today’s market given the overall condition.
Blancpain Villeret Perpetual Calendar (Ref. 5495)
Auction Location: Germany
Estimate: €3,300-€6,600 (~$3,800-$7,650)
Buyer’s Premium: 25%
For the next stop of the week, I transitioned my focus to a small auction house in Deutschland that was hosting a “fine art auction” with over 1,000 lots, of which only 11 were wristwatches.
I know what you’re thinking: “He’s featuring another Blancpain from the Six Masterpieces Era right after he wrote about his reference 1186? This guy has tunnel vision!” Admittedly, that’s probably true. A year ago, I would have scrolled right past this lot – but that’s also the reason I thought it was the perfect sleeper to target.
As I wrote in this article about my Blancpain Villeret reference 1186, Blancpain’s horological pedigree and the story of Jean-Claude Biver’s revitalization of the brand is not fully appreciated by collectors today. Admittedly, the classical aesthetics and 34mm diameter of each of the “Masterpieces” are not everyone’s cup of tea, but after living with my 1186 this year, I am a strong proponent of the build quality, the deliberate aesthetic restraint, and the surprising versatility of its 34mm case. Once you’ve lived with one, you start to see the whole Villeret line differently, and you wonder why collectors continue to undervalue them.
It’s worth reiterating that the reference 5495 is a perpetual calendar in precious metal, with a movement by Frédéric Piguet, that competed directly with perpetuals from Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet upon its release. The watch at auction was also accompanied by its original invoice, showing a retail price of 27,500 Swiss Francs (the equivalent of nearly 40,000 CHF today). Today, it carries an auction estimate that doesn’t even exceed common six-digit stainless steel Rolex references. If that doesn’t scream “value” to you, then I don’t know what does.
My Final Bid: €6,750 ($9,750 USD all-in)
Outcome: LOST; Final Hammer: €7,500 (~$11,000 USD all-in)
Post-Sale Thoughts: Unfortunately, this auction took place while I was sleeping so I had to determine a competitive advance bid beforehand. Prior to the auction, Chrono24 had three other yellow gold 5495 examples for sale with asking prices ranging from $13,000-16,000 USD. Given the watch’s condition and accompanying original invoice and service paperwork, I was quite comfortable trying to snag it for just under $10,000 USD, which translated to an advance bid of €6,750.
Candidly, I expected that to be a winning bid, given the lack of focus on these watches, and I was disappointed to wake up on the losing side. Ultimately, the result of ~$11,000 USD all-in was well bought, as you would be hard pressed to find a watch that packs a bigger horological punch for that price, and that is just under what I would consider “market” for this reference in yellow gold.
Rolex Reference 6426 (Rare Cream Dial with Applied 3-6-9)
Auction Location: United Kingdom
Estimate: £2,500-£3,500 (~$3,300-$4,600 USD)
Buyer’s Premium: 26%
For my final watch of the season, I (virtually) headed to the United Kingdom for a chance at this Rolex Precision reference 6426. Amongst the thousands of lots up for sale this first week of December, this was the watch I wanted the most…and I promise I’m not just saying that because I struck out on the first two auctions. In fact, this watch is perhaps one of the starkest examples of “if you know, you know” within the world of vintage Rolex.
Stepping back, the reference 6426 is a common entry-level vintage Rolex, with pricing steadily bound within the ~$2,000-4,000 range regardless of broader trends in the vintage Rolex market. The vast majority were simple, silver dials with “Rolex Oyster” above the hand stack, and in some cases, the word “Precision” on the bottom half of the dial. The watch was also smaller and thinner than other Rolex offerings such as the Datejust or Explorer, with a diameter of 34mm and a manually wound caliber 1225 beating under the hood.
So why, at this point in my collecting arc, was I ecstatic to see a reference 6426 pop up in a small winter auction? Well, even my least observant readers will notice a stark difference between the “standard” 6426 dial above and the watch that I excitedly found in the auction catalog. For starters, the watch at auction featured a “cream” dial, which creates a much warmer aesthetic, particularly when paired with nicely aged tritium lume. But the star of the show is the applied 3-6-9 “Explorer” dial configuration.
A cousin of this watch is the Rolex Commando, another 34mm manual wind watch with a tritium 3-6-9 dial, that is highly sought after by collectors. The Commando is extremely rare, with less than 20 examples having surfaced to-date, and they now consistently change hands in the mid-$20,000 range. To my eye, this reference 6426 dial is a more refined (and attractive) iteration of the Commando that exchanges aggressive tritium lume and high contrast for a more subtle take on the Explorer motif.
The first time I encountered this almost mythical reference was via Eric Wind in 2020 when he posted it on his Instagram. In fact, I texted Eric on August 17, 2020 (yes, I looked it up) and said “If you find another one of these, I want it. I can’t get it out of my head.” Since that text, I have counted only seven other examples that have surfaced publicly (including this one). With less than ten of these dials circulating amongst collectors, that renders this humble Rolex Precision…one of the rarest vintage Rolexes in the world.
Now is a good time to remind everyone that rarity alone does not automatically equate to eye watering valuations, but in a world where vintage Rolex collecting has become increasingly binary (the market focuses almost exclusively on the same trophy references), this Precision feels like one of the few remaining sleepers. This was the last of the three watches on my bid sheet for the week, and particularly after striking out on the first two lots, I was determined to give it a good run.
My Final Bid: £5,200 (~$8,700 all-in, before any applicable tariffs – that’s a “tomorrow problem”)
Outcome: WON!
Post-Sale Thoughts: “Give it to me. Slam that gavel down and give it to me!” I exclaimed in my kitchen, while my bewildered family looked on.
Going into the auction, I was prepared to bid up to ~£6,500 hammer (~$11,000 all-in), while giving myself the latitude to go slightly higher if it felt right. While I was hoping that most bidders would skip over this watch in the catalog, you’re never sure until the show begins and I wanted to ensure that I wasn’t kicking myself a year from now for being too cheap.
Early bidding interest was strong, with book bids at the high-end of the estimate and a few different parties jumping into the bidding action early. My competitors eventually tailed off at the £5,000 mark, leaving me screaming at an auctioneer in London through my computer screen. When the gavel finally came down and I was the winner, I felt a true rush and sense of satisfaction that you simply don’t get in the watch world outside of competitive auctions.
No, this watch isn’t a groundbreaking revelation in horology and will never become a major auction darling, but I held onto genuine interest in this watch for over five years and was finally able to add it to my collection. Even better, I had won the watch for ~50% of what the last two examples have sold for privately (and ~33% of what Commandos are selling for publicly), so from the standpoint of seeking value, I think it’s fair to say the winter auctions were kind to me yet again.
Final Reflections
Winter auction season ramps up in early November, and by the time you reach the cluster of December sales, especially at the smaller houses, there’s a noticeable sense of fatigue among both collectors and dealers. The headline pieces have already been fought over, travel schedules are packed, and attention spans are thinning (probably like your own attention span at this point in the article). But for “normal” collectors, that end-of-season lull often creates a narrow but meaningful window where good watches receive less scrutiny, and disciplined bidders can find opportunities that may not have existed at the beginning of the season.
This year also introduced an unexpected dynamic: the very things that made cross-border buying more expensive – tariffs and unfavorable currency movements – may have thinned out the American bidding pool in overseas sales. In practice, that meant fewer competing paddles on lots I cared about, which is exactly the opposite of what I would have predicted heading into December. If you’re willing to stomach the added friction and accept that “all-in” means something very different depending on where the hammer falls, the field can be surprisingly clear.
None of this guarantees bargains, of course. Good watches still command good prices, and the market is efficient enough that obvious steals rarely slip through. But for collectors who approach these auctions with real interest in the lots rather than a speculative mindset, the combination of smaller venues and auction fatigue can work in your favor.
And of course, my personal highlight from this auction season was the little Rolex Precision that finally made its way into my collection. It’s true that “steals” rarely slip through an efficient market, but in my case, that’s exactly what happened. Even after 12+ years of collecting and writing about watches, there’s still nothing quite like landing a watch you’ve quietly coveted for years, particularly for an attractive price.
This reference 6426 isn’t a trophy piece and won’t command breathless headlines, but its combination of scarcity, charm, and personal appeal makes it one of the most satisfying auction wins I’ve had in a long time. I’m looking forward to giving it a proper, detailed write-up once it arrives, as some sleepers deserve their moment in the sun.